In Gallery 2, Mark Giglio playfully tostles the push and pull between abstraction and representation in his elegant and whimsical acrylic paintings. Giglio’s body of work takes cues from decorative arts motifs that are based on nature while offering witty nods to Baroque-style painting and ornamentation. This interplay of imagery is created by Giglio’s use of various painting processes to generate relief surfaces that are then countered by flat graphic shapes that intersect the picture plane.

This new visual and topographical territory consequently becomes the site for a set of hidden narratives in a fantastic animal kingdom. Embedded into these seemingly decadent patterns are tales where animals and creatures struggle for dominance and existence. At times it is unclear if these patterns are turning into life or if these kingdoms are hardening into stone or marble. This process of transformation offers a continuous moment of movement and stasis and embarks the viewer in a visual hunt that is reminiscent of the “Where’s Waldo?” books from the 1980’s.